In a political season where yard signs typically herald the homeowner’s candidate for president, Walter and Nancy Malewicz’s sign catcalls a more localized and personal issue.

In large lettering with a Home Depot bucket swinging freely underneath, the sign reads “Alburtis Pride?” with an oversized question mark. The sign is a barbed yet poignant critique of Alburtis residents’ increasingly frequent use of buckets, tubs and pails (some in severe disrepair) to secure their roadside mailboxes.

The issue has been festering in Alburtis Borough for years, but has come to a flashpoint in the past month after increasing activist attendance at Alburtis Borough Council meetings. That effort culminated in a preliminary draft of an ordinance, presented to Alburtis Borough Council by Councilmen David Lehr and Jon Aleszczyk during the Oct. 14 council meeting.

“We saw…there were two types of mailboxes, attached and unattached and we wanted some consistent standard and something we could be proud of,” Aleszczyk, council vice president, explained.

The preliminary draft document outlines two scenarios for the mounting of mailboxes. Residents are given explicit guidelines regarding the dimensions and location of mailboxes affixed to either a post or a mounting pole in accordance with United States Postal Service standards. The USPS website cautions residents against utilizing “unyielding and potentially dangerous supports, like heavy metal pipes, concrete posts and farm equipment, e.g. milk cans filled with concrete.”

The central tenet of the draft is the prohibition of the usage of buckets, pails, or tubs for post installation.

Alburtis residents have been in attendance at borough council meetings over the past month to voice their concerns over the unsightliness of select mailboxes affixed with a bucket, colloquially referred to as the “Bucket Brigade.”

Although the issue has gained traction in the past month, bucket-enhanced mailboxes have been a sticking point in the borough for years.

A vote was held to draft an ordinance regarding consistent mailbox standards Oct. 29, 2014. The resolution was ultimately defeated in a 5-2 vote, with council members Margaret McCormack and David Lehr dissenting.

“It seems like we’re rolling ourselves right around to where we were…a year ago, or two years ago, or 20 years ago,” resident Ron DeIaco, former mayor of Alburtis, said. “In particular the Main Street area. We’ve had grants to improve the sidewalks to make the place look respectable and we need to do something. As you come [through Main Street] this is what people see.”

“I’m a member of Home Depot, I love the place, but the buckets don’t have a place on the sidewalk,” DeIaco added

The ordinance is currently in the drafting phase of development. Alburtis Borough Council would still need to pass the final ordinance by majority vote.

Following passage of the measure, residents would have 30 calendar days to remove all buckets and a further six months to comply with the remaining borough guidelines.

Council is currently pursuing a tiered-fine system for non-compliance with the forthcoming ordinance. A warning letter will be delivered by the borough before any fines are levied.

An exception was made in the preliminary draft document concerning the use of flower pots in lieu of buckets, provided they are composed of ceramic, heavy gauge vinyl, pressure treated wood or fir and are well-maintained. The pots may not exceed 18 inches in diameter or 16 inches in height.

Concerns were also raised regarding the elderly in the community who would have difficulty adhering to the new borough guidelines without considerable assistance.

“There are elderly people in this borough that need some help to get this done,” Cathy Moyer, a member of council, lamented. “And you’re saying to them, ‘You’ve got two weeks after you get this notice and then we’re going to start taxing.”

“And you have to remember, they’re on a fixed income,” Alburtis Mayor Kathleen Palmer said.

The draft also includes a provision stipulating rental properties comprising of three or more units must have a designated “cluster box” in place at the expense of the landlord.

“My concern is we’ve been dealing with this for two years,” Lehr said.

“Our delay in trying to come to grips with this…the number of buckets has tripled.”